I have some small black beetles eating my Bell Peppers before they grow full size. How can I get rid of them or is it to late?

Hi Neil, those sound like the juvenile green shield beetle or stink bug. The easiest way to remove them is to blast with the hose, but they will return. As the plants are fruiting you don’t really want to spray, you could pick the bugs off and dispose of in the rubbish, or use a low toxicity spray such as pyrethrum which has a short withholding period on fruiting plants. The withholding period is, the time from spraying to when you can harvest the crop. You could try a horticultural spraying oil, it is easier to control green shield beetle in the juvenile stage rather than the adult stage. Alternatively it could be bronze beetle, treat them the same way as the green vegetable bug, they are usually around for a couple of weeks and then disappear. Lianne.